Treasured Gifts for the Holidays – Adopt-A-Manatee®

Make a big impact on the people you
shop for this holiday season with thoughtful gift adoptions from Save the
Manatee Club. These are real, living Florida manatees with known
histories that can be adopted online at savethemanatee.org, or by calling the
Club toll free and talking to a friendly representative at
1-800-432-5646. Funds from the Club’s adoption programs go toward vital
manatee conservation and aquatic ecosystem protection programs.

“I decided to adopt a manatee for my
daughter after she put “life-sized manatee” on her Christmas list last year,”
said Mary Flanagan from Austin, Texas, who adopted ‘Margarito’ for her teenage
daughter, Annabella. “I thought it would be great to ‘give’ Annabella a
manatee while at the same time donate to a group that works to protect these
large and lovable animals.”

Annabella says she was surprised and
ecstatic to receive the manatee gift adoption for Christmas. “It’s
exciting to have a personal connection to one of these animals I admire so
much.”

Manatees available for adoption such
as Squeaky, Rocket, Merlin, Ariel, and many others can be viewed on the Club’s
website at www.savethemanatee.org/adoptees.
An annual manatee adoption costs $25, is tax-deductible, and includes an
adoption certificate with a full-color photo, a biography, a membership
handbook, and subscriptions to the Club’s newsletters which feature updated
reports on the manatees in the adoption program and information on important
issues affecting manatees around the world. Shipping is free for U.S.
adoption orders. Gift adoptions are sent with a personalized holiday
message. And, each new member who joins the Adopt-A-Manatee® program at
$35 will also receive the Club’s popular 2014 manatee wall calendar.(Note: All amounts are in U.S.
dollars. An additional $10 will be added to adoptions mailed to all
countries outside the United States.)

“Manatees delight people of all
ages,” said Patrick Rose, aquatic biologist and Executive Director of Save the
Manatee Club. “Big and adorable, manatees charm Floridians and all those
who vacation in Florida and have an opportunity to see them. Sadly, it
has been a catastrophic year for the endangered manatee population due to a
prolonged and deadly red tide event in southwest Florida and an ongoing
mortality event in the Indian River Lagoon on the Atlantic Coast.” Rose said there
were 772 manatee deaths from all causes through November 8th, which has broken
all previous yearly mortality records since record-keeping began.

“Those who adopt manatees as gifts
this holiday season will help us fund emergency rescue response for sick and
injured manatees, critically-needed research, public awareness and education,
and much more,” explained Rose. “We greatly appreciate the heartfelt
support of our manatee conservation efforts.”

Save the Manatee Club, an international
nonprofit conservation and manatee welfare organization, was created by
singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett in 1981. Its mission is to protect
endangered manatees and their aquatic habitat for future generations.

Manatee gift adoptions are available
by contacting Save the Manatee Club at 500 N. Maitland Ave., Maitland, FL
32751, or by calling 1-800-432-JOIN (5646), or by visiting the web site at www.savethemanatee.org.
Also, discover special manatee items, from earrings to books, in the Club’s
gift catalog at www.shopsavethemanatee.org.